Most Correct Way to Grow Rents in MF Development Underwriting

Curious everyone's thoughts on how to underwrite multifamily rent growth. 

  1. do you apply a lower growth rate for renewals compared to relets? (For instance- 50% renewal rate, 2% growth for renewals (50%) and 3% growth for new leases (other 50%). Or is it not worth it in your opinion to break out renewals and new leases separately after stabilization? I can see pros and cons to both methods.  
  2. for any given month, most of the leases in-place at the property in said month would realistically NOT be at market rent for that month (since most leases will have been signed at some point over the last 12 months), so, do you build that into your monthly proforma (take a blended average across the last 12 months) or do you just annually grow rents at some % each year and apply to all units for that year? Or something else? 

I've seen it done a variety of ways and have my opinions, but want to hear from this group what your preferences are and what you believe is the most technically correct way to underwrite this. 

4 Comments
 
Most Helpful
  1. Depends on market conditions. Five or so years ago, if a tenant didn’t want to renew at market, I’d have them replaced in two weeks. Right now, I would absolutely underwrite renewals at a lower % gain. I bet some people out there are underwriting some properties at 0% rent gain if they’re being honest. Big picture, you underwrite the most aggressive numbers lenders and LPs will let you get away with. 

2. This is just loss to lease, no? Market rents and effective rents should be two different lines in your model. 

 

Adipisci non facere id laudantium ut. Molestias pariatur quis et minus nihil. Nihil porro qui debitis aut. Qui dolorem est sed aliquam. Eligendi iusto rerum voluptas nesciunt adipisci. Quas earum alias occaecati beatae. Unde rem maxime in nulla tempora ut.

Quis autem quisquam possimus at minima nobis. Praesentium commodi reiciendis tempore. Molestias et magnam iste dolorum rerum omnis. Accusantium perspiciatis facere non dolores aut voluptatem cumque. Numquam ad ut reprehenderit praesentium odit debitis magni. Aut tenetur in et aut eveniet totam facere. Et qui dolor et inventore.

Career Advancement Opportunities

October 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 99.0%
  • JPMorgan 01 98.4%
  • Guggenheim Partners 02 97.9%
  • Morgan Stanley 06 97.4%

Overall Employee Satisfaction

October 2026 Investment Banking

  • Moelis & Company No 99.5%
  • Morgan Stanley 02 99.0%
  • Evercore 01 98.4%
  • Banco Santander 02 97.9%
  • BMO Capital Markets 12 97.4%

Professional Growth Opportunities

October 2026 Investment Banking

  • Evercore 01 99.5%
  • Moelis & Company 01 99.0%
  • Morgan Stanley 05 98.4%
  • Goldman Sachs 01 97.9%
  • JPMorgan No 97.4%

Total Avg Compensation

October 2026 Investment Banking

  • Vice President (16) $429
  • Associates (57) $264
  • 3rd+ Year Analyst (8) $210
  • 2nd Year Analyst (28) $184
  • Intern/Summer Associate (16) $161
  • 1st Year Analyst (84) $151
  • Intern/Summer Analyst (76) $101
notes
16 IB Interviews Notes

“... there’s no excuse to not take advantage of the resources out there available to you. Best value for your $ are the...”

Leaderboard

1
redever's picture
redever
99.2
2
kanon's picture
kanon
99.0
3
BankonBanking's picture
BankonBanking
99.0
4
Secyh62's picture
Secyh62
99.0
5
DrApeman's picture
DrApeman
98.9
6
GameTheory's picture
GameTheory
98.9
7
Betsy Massar's picture
Betsy Massar
98.9
8
CompBanker's picture
CompBanker
98.9
9
dosk17's picture
dosk17
98.9
10
numi's picture
numi
98.8
success
From 10 rejections to 1 dream investment banking internship

“... I believe it was the single biggest reason why I ended up with an offer...”